First impressions Formatt Hitech Firecrest 16 stops ND filter

My first impressions Formatt Hitech Firecrest 16 stops ND filter – the BRAND-NEW Firecrest circular ND filter

Feeling inspired…
This is my first image shot with the BRAND-NEW circular Formatt Hitech Filters Firecrest 16 stops ND filter that I have just received a few days ago, and with the T/S lens + Canon 5D MKIII, and it is a landscape!
Surprise?!!!
Yes, I’m an architecture lover but I’m in love with nature too. I wanted to work on some landscape for a long time (the last landscape work I did was at Christmas) but I was totally absorbed this year by architecture, by writing the book (From Basics to Fine Art, my mentorships, workshops and other projects.
Until I received the new Firecrest! This filter is so easy to use and it gives you such great results that it inspired me to go back in nature and shoot some new work. And I’m so glad I did it! I had forgotten how great it is to be face to face with the immensity and beauty of nature. Where you need no words because just by looking at the scenery, by looking nature right in the eyes, you understand what this is all about and what is the essence of everything. I love the city but nothing beats some fluffy playful clouds over the mountains or the sea. And the silence… nothing beats the silence and the peace…

As for the filters, I have to say I’m so very impressed. It’s like shooting without any filter at all, that’s how neutral these filters are. I was shooting exposures of 8 minutes and more at sunset these days, exposures where all NDs would give you a lot of color cast, just to try this filter at its limits. Well, guess what! No color cast whatsoever, it’s that good! I’ll let you all know more of my impressions with the new Firecrest (plus RAW files) soon.

You can also see above a screenshot taken during my processing and the color image you can see is my final color version before converting to black and white. The colors are enhanced a bit here to give me better black and white tones, but as you can see, there is no color cast at all. I will show you in my review the RAW file of this image too.
I’ll be back in a couple of days with more thoughts on the Firecrest filters, and some RAW files too so you can see the results of shooting with these filters for yourself. But in one word, I just love the new Firecrest filters!

TECHNICAL DATA
Long Exposure Tilt-Shift image.
– Camera settings: 473.0 sec. (~ 8 minutes) @ f/14, ISO 100
– Neutral Density Filters: circular ND 16 stops  Formatt Hitech Filters Firecrest 16
– Shot with Canon 5D MK3 & Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II
– T/S settings – no tilt, no shift, camera and lens leveled perfectly horizontal.
PROCESSING SOFTWARE
– LR5, PS CS6, Topaz Labs B&W Effects +DeNoise + Detail, NIK Silver Efex Pro.
You can get a 15% discount for the Topaz Labs products with code “juliaannagospodarou” from here https://topazlabs.com/shop/ref/49/

UPDATE: As I said I’ll be back with more on these filters. I just posted a Full Review of the Firecrest 16 Stops ND Filters (IRND 4.8) by Formatt-Hitech and you can read it at the link provided.

UPDATE 2018

10% OFF ANY FORMATT-HITECH PRODUCT: FILTERS, HOLDERS, ACCESSORIES
WITH CODE “JULIA10”

You can now purchase any Formatt-Hitech product, filters, holders, accessories, as single products or in kits, with 10% discount by using the discount code “JULIA10”, that Formatt-Hitech offered me exclusively for my students and followers. To use the code all you have to do is go to Formatt-Hitech website , choose the products you need and then use the code at checkout. Very simple steps that can save you a good amount of money, considering that the Formatt-Hitech products are high-end professional products with a price tag obviously higher than other regular filters. This way you can buy Formatt-Hitech filters spending as little as you would for regular filters.